Ibn Taymiyah and other Sunni scholars on Kashf and Ilham

Shaykh Al-Islam ibn Taymiyah in Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah
Shaykh ul Islam ibn Taymiyah wrote:
“Among the fundamentals of the people of the Sunnah is the belief in the Karamat of the Awliya. And What Allah caused to occur at their hands of unusual occurrences, regarding types of knowledge (Al-Ulum) and unveiling (al-Mukashafat), and types of ability (al-Qudrah) and effects (At-Ta’thirat). And what is reported from the preceding nations generations in Surah Al-Kahf, and other than that, and from the predecessors of this Ummah among the Companions, the Tabi’in and the rest of the generations of this Ummah, and they shall exist in it, until the Day of Resurrection”
(Quoted from “Commentary on Shaykh Al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah’s Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiiyyah” by Shaykh Al-Uthaimin, English translation by Darussalam Publications vol 2 p 427 and after)
Explanation of Shaykh ibn Utheymeen of Wasitiyah
Shaykh Ibn Utheymeen explained the text of Shaykhul Islam ibn Taymiyah quoted above:
“Concerning his statement: “In types of knowledge (Ul-Ulum) and unveiling (Al-Mukashafat), and types of ability (Al-Qudrah) and effects (At-Ta’thirat):” meaning that Karamah is divided into two categories: A category that has to do with knowledge and unveiling, and another category that has to do with ability and effects.
As for Al-Ulum, one may possess some kinds of knowledge which other do not have.
As for Al-Mukashafat, that is what becomes apparent to him from things which are unveiled for him, in a way that does not occur for others.
An example of the first Al-Ulum (knowledges) is what is mentioned about Abu Bakr, that Allah let him look at what was in the womb of his wife, the pregnancy, Allah made him know that it was a girl
(Reported by Al-Lalikai in “Karamat Al-Awliya” (63) and Ibn Hajar mentioned it “Al-Isabah” (4:261)
An example of the second category, Al-Mukashafat (unveiling) is that what happened to the Commander of the Believers, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, when he was giving a sermon to the people on the Minbar one Friday. They heard him saying: “O Sariyah! The mountain!” They were surprised at this statement. Then, they asked him about that. He replied that it had been shown to him that Sariyah bin Zanim, one of his leaders in Al-Iraq, was being surrounded by his enemies (in the war front). So he (Umar) was directing him to go towards the mountain, and he said to him: “O Sariyah! The mountain” Sariyah heard the voice of Umar, so he went up to the mountain and sought fortification therein.
(Reported by Al-Bayhaqi in “Dalail An-Nubuwwah” and ibn Kathir in “Al-Bidayah” (7:131) and said: “Its chain is Hasan Jayid”. And Al-Albani graded it Hasan (good) in As-Silsilah As-Sahihah 1110)
This is among the matters of unveiling because it was a real occurrence, but it was far away.
As for the ability and effect, an example is what happened to Maryam when she took the trunk of date-palm tree and fresh dates started falling down upon her. And like the case of what happened to the one who possessed the knowledge of the Book, when he said to Sulaiman: “I will bring it to you within the blink of an eye.”
(“Commentary on Shaykh Al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah’s Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiiyyah” by Shaykh Al-Uthaimin, English translation by Darussalam Publications vol 2 p 435-426.)
Explanation of Shaykh Fawzan of Wasitiyah
Shaykh Salih Al-Fawzan wrote in his explanation of “Al-Wasityah” of Shaykhul Islam ibn Taymiyah:
“In his saying: “Fi Anwa Al-Ulum wal Mukashafat wa Anwa’ Al-Qudrah wat Ta’thirat” there is an indication to the fact that the Karamah, some of them can be from the category of knowledge and Kashf by the servant hearing what others do not hear or SEEING what other do not see, AWAKE or in sleep, or he knows what other do not know, and some of them can be from the category of Qudrah and Ta’thir.
An example of the first category: the saying of Umar: “O Sariyah the Mountain” while he was in Madeenah and Sariyah in the east.
(Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi in “Ad-Dalail” (6/370) and Abu Na’eem in “Ad-Dalail” (525), and it has many ways as in “Tarikh ibn Kathir” (7/131) and “Al-Isabah” (4/98) of ibn Hajar, “Takhrij Al-Arabeen” n 5 of As-Sakhawi and “Al-Maqasid” (736) of As-Sakhawi as well and “As-Silsilah As-Sahihah” 1110)
And Abu Bakr informing that there is a daughter in the womb of his wife”
(Narrated by Malik in Muwatta 40, and Al-Lalikai in “Karamat Al-Awliya” (63), see “Al-Isabah” (4/261)
…
As for the second category: the story of the one who had knowledge of the Book and him bringing the throne of Bilqis to Sulaiman (aleyhi Salam), and the story of the people of Al-Kahf and the story of Maryam, and the story of Khalid ibn Al-Waleed when he drank poison and was not harmed (narrated by Al-Haythami in “Al-Majma’ 9/350, and he said: narrated by Abu Ya’la and At-Tabarani and others and one of the two Isnad of At-Tabarani, it chains contains of narrators of the Sahih and it is Mursal, and it’s two narrators are trustworthy except that Abu As-Safr and Abu Burdah ibn Abi Musa did not both hear from Khalid)
(Sharh Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah, Maktabah Al-Ma’arif, p 199-200)
Explanation of Shaykh Rajihi of Al-Wasitiyah
Shaykh AbdulAziz Rajihi wrote in his explanation of Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah:
“Karamah is an extraordinary event caused by Allah for or through a pious person because of the blessing of following the Prophet (saw). The author (rah) pointed out that Karamah is divided into two types:
First type: It occurs like knowledge and mystical disclosure of the unseen by knowing, hearing or seeing what others do not while sleeping or being awake or through inspiration.
Second type: It occurs in the nature of power and effects by causing matters to occur.
An example of the first type related to knowledge and mystical revelation of the unseen takes place when one hears or sees what others do not, as what happened to Umar ibn Al-Khattab when he saw the army in Nahawand while he was delivering a sermon on the pulpit in Medina. He called out to the army leader: “O Sariyah, the mountain (ie watch out the mountain), warning him from the enemy. Allah caused the army leader in Iraq to hear Umar’s warning, so they put their back on the mountain and became victorious. This the karamah with which Allah honors Umar as his army was revealed to him while he was in Medina.
An example of the miracle occurrence in the nature of knowledge is that when Abu Bakr’s wife was pregnant, Allah revealed to him that she would beget a girl.
An example of the second type, which is related to power and effect, includes what happened to Al-‘Ala ibn al-Hadrami who crossed on the top of the Euphrates with his army…
Another example includes what happened to Usayd bin Hudayr and Abbad ibn Bishr after they left the presence of the Prophet (saw) on a dark night. A light came to them and guided them on their way, and when they parted away, the light spread into two, one for each of them.
Khubaib bin ‘Adi was once a prisoner of the polytheists in Mecca, and grapes used to be brought to him, and he ate them, though there were no grapes in or around Mecca…”
(A commentary on Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyyah” by Shaykh Al-Islam Ahmad ibn Abd alHalim ibn Taymiyyan, commentary by: Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah Al-Rajihi, translated and published by Al-Ihsan Publications USA, vol 2 p 207-208
The publisher added some footnotes to the narrations, but for the purpose of being brief I have not added these footnotes as the references of story of Umar ibn Al-Khattab and Sariyah and the story of Abu Bakr have already been mentioned in the explanations of Shaykh ibn Utheymeen and Shaykh Fawzan. As for the narration of Usaid ibn Hudair and Abbad ibn Bishr, and the narration of Khubaib ibn Adi, they are in Sahih Al-Bukhari as the publisher referenced them)
Explanation of Shaykh Abdullah Al-Ghunayman of Al-Wasitiyah:
“It can be something that he hears or it can be by vision with the eye or a vision in a dream, and all of them are called “Mukashafaat”. A matter can come to his heart and he is certain that it is true so he follows it and informs about it such as what happened to Abu Bakr, he informed that there was a daughter in the womb of his wife. And likewise Umar informed that from his progeny would come a – child who would have a scar on his face and who will be just, and Umar ibn Abdil Aziz came as a just caliph. And likewise him being informed about the army in Nahawand while he was giving Khutbah on the minbar and it was unveiled to him (kushifa lahu), and he said: “O Saariyah, the mountain!” so they heard his voice, took their sides to it and this became the reason for their victory over the enemy, and all of this is from Mukashafaat”
(Al-Jalisaat At-Tullabiyah li Sharh Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah” p 466, Dar ibn Jawzi)
Explanation of Shaykh AbdulKareem Al-Khudeir of Al-Wasitiyah
““Min Anwa’ Al-Ulum wal Mukashafat”: And from it is what occurred to Umar ibn Al-Khattab (rad), while he was giving Khutbah on the minbar on a day, and the companions heard him saying: “O Saariah the mountain! O Saariah the mountain!” as it was unveiled to him (kushifa lahu) about Saariyah ibn Zaneem, who was one of the leaders, in the battlefield, so Umar instructed him and those with him to seek refuge in the mountain, and Saariah heard him, and this is a Karamah”
(“At-Ta’liqat As-Sanniyah ‘ala Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah” p 439 Dar ibn Jawzi-Ma’alim Sunnan)
Explanation of Shaykh Khalid Musleh of Al-Wasitiyah:
Shaykh Khalid Musleh in his explanation of “Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah” only quotes statements of Shaykhul Islam ibn Taymiyah from other sources to explain “Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah”. Portions of the statements of Shaykhul islam ibn Taymiyah with their references quoted by Shaykh Khalid Musleh:
“Sometimes the servant hear what others do not hear, sometimes he sees awake or in a dream what others do not see, and sometimes he knows things that others do not know by revelation or inspiration or descent of certain knowledge or true Farasah…” (Majmoo Fatawa 11/313)
“Such as the statement of Umar in the story of Saariyah, and Abu Bakr informing of the female child in the womb of his wife, and Umar informing of a child in his progeny who will be just…” (Majmoo Fatawa 11/318)
(“Sharh Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah min Kalam Shaykhul Islam ibn Taymiyah” of Shaykh Khalid Musleh p 199 Dar ibn Jawzi)
Shaykh Sultan Umayri in his explanation of Wasitiyah:
“And from its example, the saying of Umar: “O Saariyah the Mountain!” when he sent him to a place far away from Madinah in Shaam or Iraq, and the army was encircled and Umar saw him and the condition of this became unveiled to him, so he said: “O Saariyah the mountain!” and Saariyah heard him, so he went to the mountain and and the army was saved from defeat.”
And from this is Abu Bakr informing about the sex of the child in the womb of his wife, he told that there is a female in the womb of her wife and she gave birth to a female”
(Al-‘Uqud Az-Zahabiyah ‘ala Maqasid Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah” vol 2 p 474)
Shaykh Salih Aal Shaykh in his explanation of Wasitiyah
““And What Allah caused to occur at their hands of unusual occurrences.” This (statement of Shaykhul Isam ibn Taymiyah) contains the fact that the one who established this Karamah for them or favoured them with a Karamah is Allah (Azza wa Jalla). It is not from the choice of the saint to bring their occurrence or not rather it is Allah (‘Azza wa Jalla) who favours him with such. It can occur due to a need of him or it can be a favour without any need.
As for coming for a need: such as what occurred to one of the companions when his horse dead, he invoked Allah and his horse stood up alive until he reached his home, as he (horse) had died in a place where there was no one, so he (the companion) feared to perish, so he invoked Allah and He resurrected it for him, and when he reached his house, the horse fell down dead another time.
Also Umar seeing Saariyah and his army and Saariyah hearing Umar, and this occurred due to a need…”
His statement: “regarding types of knowledge (Al-Ulum) and unveiling (al-Mukashafat), and types of ability (al-Qudrah) and effects (At-Ta’thirat)”. Shaykhul Islam mentionned that the Karamaat of saints are of 2 kinds:
First: Karamaat from the types of knowledge and unveiling
Second: Karamaat from the types of ability and effects.
As for the Karamaat of knowledge and unveiling, they are either from the perspective of what is known rationally or from the perspective of removing the veil and curtain from the vision, or from the perspective of removing the veil and curtain from the hearing.
An example of Al-Kashf Al-Basari (removing veil from the vision) is what occurred to Umar when he was delivering a Khutbah in Madinah and he saw the Persian army so he said: “O Saariah, O Saariah”. This hadith was declared Hasan by Hafiz ibn Hajar and others, opposing those who weakened it. So this is a Kashf Basari from the side of Umar, the veil was removed from him, as the vision has a veil, and when it is removed, he sees something that he wouldn’t see with the veil present for him. “˹It will be said to the denier,˺ “You were totally heedless of this. Now We have lifted this veil of yours, so Today your sight is sharp!” (Qaf 50:22)
So when the veil is removed from the vision by death, he sees things with his soul that he wouldn’t see in this world, he sees angels, those who speak to him, so Kashf is the original state for him in the law. So the veil of the vision was removed for Umar, and the veil of hearing was removed for Saariyah, so he was able to hear Umar while Umar was in Madinah and Saariyah in his place in the land of the Persian, and hence they attached to the mountain and succeeded. This was a favour from Allah (‘Azza wa Jalla).
Also from Al-Kashf Al-Basari is what occurred for Abu Bakr when he looked at the tummy of his wife while she was pregnant and he said: “A female is shown to me”, and when she was born after some time, it was accordingly. This was a Kashf from the vision”
(“Al-Lali u Al-Bahiyyah fi Sharh Al-Aqidah Al-Wasitiyah” vol 2 p 406-409, Maktabah Daar Al-Hijaz)
Shaykh AbdurRazaq Affifi on narration of Saariyah:
Shaikh AbdurRazaq Afifi establishes the narration of Saariya and counts it among Karamaat of saints, p 279-380 of his “Fatawa wa Rasail”, compiled by his students Shaykh Waleed ibn Idrees Menese and Sa’eed ibn Sabir Abduh, Dar Al-Fazeelah and Dar ibn Hazm:
“And this is ibn Khattab while he was doing Khutbah, Allah sent him Ilham or showed him Saariyah and the army from his back and said: O Saariyah attach yourself to the mountain, meaning put your back to the mountain so the enemy does not come from behind….”
Shaykh Ubaydullah Mubarakpuri affirms the narration of Saariyah
In a letter to Shaykh Ghazi Ozair Mubarakpuri dated of 13/5/79, Shaykh Ubaydullah Mubarakupri replied to some questions on Ahadith and among these questions was the authenticity of the narration of Umar ibnul Khattab and Saariyah, he replied:
“The incident of Hazrat Umar (rad) saying “O Sariyah go to the mountain” is mentioned in “Tahzeeb Al-Asma wa Lughat” of An-Nawawi v 2 p 10, “Asad Al-Lughah” v 4 p 65 and “Tarikh Khulafa” p 49 by quoting Al-Bayhaqi, Abu Nuayim in “Dalail Nubuwah”, Al-Lalikai in “Sarh As-Sunnah”…Ibnul Arabi in “Karamat Al-Awliya” and Al-Khateeb among narrators of Malik and ibn Mardawaiyah with the mentioned chain of narration. Hafiz after mentioning the incident in a concise way in “Al-Isabah” said “Its chain is Hasan” so telling that this incident is not authentic is not correct”
(“Makateeb Rehmani” to Shaykh Ameen Athari p 112.)
Shaykh Sulayman Mansurpuri on Kashf and Ilham
Qadhi Sulaiman Mansurpuri wrote about Ilham and Mukashafah in “Tayid Al-Islam” p 148:
“Bayhaqi Al-Waqt Qadhi Thanaullah (rah) wrote in “Irshad At-Talibin”: “The Ilham of Awliya brings Zanni knowledge (speculative knowledge) and if two hearts agree completely on one Ilham, it will reach the level of Zann Ghalib (preponderant speculation), but if the Kashf and Ilham of a Wali opposes a Hadith which is Ahad rather analogy (Qiyas) which fulfils the conditions of analogy, then on this case, we should give precedence to the Hadith and rather also to the Qiyas”
Afterwards Qadhi Sahib said that this matter was agreed by the Salaf and Khalaf.
Abu Sulayman Darani (rah) said: “Do not act on Ilham as long as it is not attested by narrations” (Ihya Uloom)
The Peer of Peers Shaykh AbdulQadir Jeelani (rah) wrote in “Futuh Al-Ghayb”: “It is permissible to act on Ilham and Kashf on the condition that it does not oppose Quran and Hadith, also consensus and authentic Qiyas”
Shaykh Haneef Nadwi on Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah’s belief in Kashf:
Shaykh Muhammad Haneef Nadwi wrote on Kashf in “Aqliyat ibn Taymiyah” p 324:
“Allamah ibn Taymiyah was not a denier of Kashf and was not unaware of the importance of benefiting and Tahdith from the Lordship, but what was objectionable for him was that some Sufis have made Kashf as a definitive (Qat’i) way of Idraak while it is not Qat’i, and some blindly following the philosophers declared Gnosticism as equal to the knowledge of Prophethood. His (Ibn Taymiyah) saying is that Kashf is among the categories of a spiritual Ijtihad, and as Ijtihad is not Qat’i from its consequences, likewise Kashf is equally prone to mistakes and errors, and the Qat’iyat and certainty (Yaqeen) is only in Prophetic sciences.
(Ibn Taymiyah said:) “The Muhadath, if he receives Ilham and Ihdath from Allah from one side from Allah, he should present it to the Book and the Sunnah as he is not infallible. As said by Abul Hasan Shazili: Infallibility is in what comes from the Book and Sunnah and infallibility is not in Kushuf and Ilham” (“Qa’idah fil Mujizat” p 9)”
Shaykh Muhamaad Haneef Nadwi further wrote p 327:
“Allamah (Ibn Taymiyah)’s concept of Islamic Wilayah is free from any misunderstanding or confusion. For him this form of level and status is in imitation of Prophethood, and it means only that one reaches a level of sincerity in obedience and imitation, and he performs orders and avoids forbidden matters with attention and the aspects of his behaviour and lifestyle are enlightened and high. And it is clear that such matters have no link to Tasarruf (control) in matters of the existence or Kashf of realities. If this clear and simple experience about Wilayah is correct then it means that if someone is a true Muslim according to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ and no form of Tasarruf or Kashf manifest from him, then there is no problem, this does not create at all a defect in his status.
(Ibn Taymiyah said): “Know that the absence of Khawariq in knowledge and power (Qudrah) do not harm the Muslim in his religion, and the one who is not disclosed anything from unseen matters and nothing from Kawniyat are made Taskheer under him, this does not diminish his level in front of Allah” (“Al-Hujaj An-Naqliyah” p 124)
On the contrary if someone is gifted with the branches of tricks of Taskheer and gratified with the disclosure of condition (Kashf Ahwaal) but he is deprived of the beatifications of the religious law, then what is the doubt about his destruction?
(Ibn Taymiyah said): “As for Kashf and Ta’theer, if it is not associated to religion, his author is destroyed in the world and in the hereafter” (“Qa’idah fil Mu’jizat” p 9)
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